"Take only pictures, leave only footprints", is the saying and nowhere
else should it be adhered to more than the Appalachian
Trail. It's a continuous footpath traversing the Appalachian
Mountains from Maine to Georgia. Over 2,000 miles long, the trail is the
brainchild of Benton MacKay who came up with the concept in the early
1920's. Though the trail has been re-routed, changed, and adapted to meet
changes the modern world has brought, it has remained a continuous
2,000-mile path since 1936 when the final pieces of the trail were
connected once and for all.

In Connecticut the trail goes from Kent to Salisbury and along the way
passes through picturesque towns such as Cornwall, Falls Village, and Lime
Rock. The mountains are called the Litchfield Hills and they are foothills
of the Berkshire Mountains. Although the CT portion of the AT trail is
shortÂ?51 milesÂ?the variety of trail and scenery is as exciting and
refreshing as any along the entire AT trail. The great thing about
Connecticut's A.T. section are the dozens of day hikes that are easily
accessed. A hiker passing through CT will enjoy short but challenging
climbs with spectacular views. Serene river walks, open farmland, and dense
woodlands seem to appear around every corner. Mix this in with postcard
scenes of classic New England, and you have the ingredients for a memorable
trail experience.

If you drew a 100-mile radius from any point on the CT portion of the
trail, the population would approach 20 million people. Hiking along the
trail, you'd never know it. Stand on any mountaintop and you'll see nothing
but rolling hills covered in trees, with just a smattering of farmland and
houses.

The Massachusetts
section begins at Sages Ravine with it's dramatic cascading waters. It
passes by Race Brook Falls, over Mt. Everett, into Jug End, through some
picturesque New England towns and hardwood forests of west central
Massachusetts, over Mount Greylock (the state's largest peak), and into
Vermont. The Berkshire Mountains are physically more impressive than the
Litchfield Hills and thus the climbing a little more challenging.

Many think the Connecticut section is a little more picturesque with
rolling hills, small towns, open field, river walks, and short climbs to
nice vistas, whereas Massachusetts is a little more rugged, remote, rocky,
swampy in some small areas, with views that are a lot more dramatic and
harder to attain the in Connecticut. But all those things can be said about
both states and there's only one way for you to find out for yourself...
Get out there, away from it all, open your eyes, and refresh your soul!

Many of the hikes listed on berkshirehiking.com are sections of the A.T.
or side trails that lead into and out of the A.T. Here are a few suggested
starting points for exploring the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut and
Massachusetts. The list begins with Bull's Bridge in Kent, CT and goes
north until Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts.